"The Democrat Party has put the brakes on Deputy Commerce Minister Alongkorn Ponlaboot's crackdown on retailers of pirated goods and has asked him to target the producers instead. The move was announced yesterday by Democrat spokesman Buranaj Samuttaraks, after some 200 traders from the Patpong area gathered at the party's headquarters.
The vendors complained that Commerce Ministry officials had over-reacted with their Wednesday-night crackdown on intellectual property violations on Patpong Road. "We will treat each side fairly," Dr Buranaj told the traders.
The crackdown should be aimed at producers of pirated goods as they were the root cause of the problem, and it should be made sure that any action taken would not hurt tourism in anyway, said the spokesman.
The Democrats will meet to discuss the matter again next Tuesday, in a bid to find softer ways to deal with traders selling pirated goods in Bangkok. . .The traders were aware of their wrongdoing, but said they want the government to adopt a more peaceful approach."
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/1637...ckus-in-patpong
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Govt backs off pirated goods raids
Started by Sexpat, May 09 2009 07:23 AM
3 replies to this topic
#2
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Posted 09 May 2009 - 12:00 PM
All of which proves that corruption continues to thrive in this country, no matter who is in charge of the government.
By all accounts I have read, the fake-goods industry in Thailand is a vast illegal commercial operation stretching from the factories of China to the streets of Patpong (and most other major cities in Thailand) and which thrives on complicity with the "mafia" which finances it and the police and other authorities who enable it to function through kick-backs or other illegal partnerships.
The simple fact is that most people, especially the Thais who have become so accustomed to buying cheap counterfeit goods, see nothing wrong with violating patent or copyright, which they don't see as stealing, especially from some rich farang company they never heard of. To them, it's a victimless crime, especially when the police don't give a damn to stop it.
What has developed is a black market economy that rivals legitimate tax-paying businesses in scope and volume. Lord only knows how much of this country's GDP is created by this underground economy which lives like a parasite on society. That's why no political party with any ambitions for attracting popular appeal is going to get serious about cleaning it up. It's too big, not to fail, but to control.
In some respects, it's very much like the "narco-states," where organized crime and the drug trade are so powerful that they have come to control the police and politicians. The folks who control the black market in fake goods are trying to do the same thing and largely succeeding in countries like Thailand.
By all accounts I have read, the fake-goods industry in Thailand is a vast illegal commercial operation stretching from the factories of China to the streets of Patpong (and most other major cities in Thailand) and which thrives on complicity with the "mafia" which finances it and the police and other authorities who enable it to function through kick-backs or other illegal partnerships.
The simple fact is that most people, especially the Thais who have become so accustomed to buying cheap counterfeit goods, see nothing wrong with violating patent or copyright, which they don't see as stealing, especially from some rich farang company they never heard of. To them, it's a victimless crime, especially when the police don't give a damn to stop it.
What has developed is a black market economy that rivals legitimate tax-paying businesses in scope and volume. Lord only knows how much of this country's GDP is created by this underground economy which lives like a parasite on society. That's why no political party with any ambitions for attracting popular appeal is going to get serious about cleaning it up. It's too big, not to fail, but to control.
In some respects, it's very much like the "narco-states," where organized crime and the drug trade are so powerful that they have come to control the police and politicians. The folks who control the black market in fake goods are trying to do the same thing and largely succeeding in countries like Thailand.
#3
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Posted 10 May 2009 - 03:25 PM
QUOTE
In some respects, it's very much like the "narco-states," where organized crime and the drug trade are so powerful that they have come to control the police and politicians. The folks who control the black market in fake goods are trying to do the same thing and largely succeeding in countries like Thailand.
Take a look at the lead editorial in the Bangkok Post today, which says:
"The government is correct in bringing Mr Alongkorn to heel. Thailand should carefully work out a way to deal with this problem, one which does not treat the vendors as criminals and recognises that there are a great many people who make their living in this grey area. Abruptly putting these people out of business will have repercussions across society.What's more, violent confrontations in major tourist areas are definitely not what Thailand needs right now."
http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion...egy-a-good-move
#4
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Posted 11 May 2009 - 12:50 PM
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The folks who control the black market in fake goods are trying to do the same thing and largely succeeding in countries like Thailand.
It never occurred to me before, but the unwillingnes or inability of the Thai authorities to do much about the counterfeit trade is a microcosm of what's so sick about the corruption in this country.
"Deputy Commerce Minister Alongkorn Ponlaboot will face more fierce opposition to his campaign against pirated and counterfeit products, as the industry is dominated by organised gangs who pay for strong support from local police, a source in the Commerce Ministry said yesterday. . .
The Commerce Ministry is now defending itself against petitions from the vendors accusing the anti-piracy officials of various crimes. Bang Rak police are summoning the officials for questioning over what the vendors claim was an illegal operation. . .
The source said all such areas were "under mafia control". However, the Patpong action had became notorious, as it was the biggest market for pirated goods.
The source explained that the market had continued for some time, thanks to the control of two families referred to Wor and Kor. They were involved in both wholesale and retail and also in importing pirated items, including watches, bags, jeans, movies and music CDs, from neighbouring countries.
Internal investigations had found that about 30 per cent of the total revenue from this trade was sent to local police, to provide "convenience" to vendors, the source said."The vendors always knew in advance if local police were planning a raid. Vendors could also retrieve confiscated items. But when an outside team led a raid, like on May 6, a mob was organised," the source said.
He said there were many other markets under mafia protection, like Ban Mor, Klong Thom and Saphan Lek. And like Patpong, these areas had been offering counterfeited items for some time, with support from local police."
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2009/05/11...al_30102351.php
